10. Cave of Giants


    (Tendi)


    <hr>


    Into the wood and down through hell


    Begins a journey where they dwell


    Inside the earth, for legends tell


    Of giants living underground.


    For in all legends lies the truth,


    At least a piece of it, in sooth,


    Amidst the many lies uncouth


    Spoken about and spread around.


    So anyway, my friends and I


    Went caving in age-old Shanghai


    Where even locals testify


    To never go beneath the ground.


    But we were stupid tourists then;


    Not listening to Mr. Chen,


    We ventured to the narrow glen


    Where they were rumored to be found.


    We spent all day just getting there


    And camped outside giants'' lair,


    The entrance cave beyond compare—


    So huge it should be more renowned.


    So overnight we slept inside


    Our knapsacks in the countryside,


    Where nighttime silences belied


    The giants sleeping in the background.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    At morning we unpacked our camp


    Ere going on our daytime scamp


    Into the darkness with our lamp


    Lighting our way into the foreground.


    Through massive halls of stalactite


    And over floors of stalagmite,


    We journeyed through the endless night


    Of the giants'' hidden playground.


    Deeper and deeper through the cave,


    We journeyed through the deep concave


    Surroundings of our living grave,


    When we all heard a breathing sound.


    We saw an opening right where


    We heard the breathing in the air,


    Peering into the giants'' lair,


    Feeling our heartbeats'' constant pound.


    I turned my flashlight on and aimed


    The beam into the darkness; framed


    Inside the dark, two eyes inflamed


    With rage peered out and looked around.


    We all hightailed our asses then


    Out of the cavern darkness when


    We heard the breathing air again,


    Followed by shaking in the ground.


    Running and stumbling through the dark,


    We heard a roar break through the stark


    Stillness, from which the legends mark


    The giants'' raging underground.


    Out of the entrance, we began


    Our scramble through the narrow span


    Of glen, until we reached our van


    And drove away, now airport-bound.


    We''ll never go back to that place


    Where giants lurk without a trace


    Within dark caverns as a race,


    Waiting there still until they''re found.


    So when you make your cavern trips,


    Listen to locals and their tips


    And warnings from their speaking lips—


    Sometimes it''s best to turn around.


    <hr>


    FINISH